Chris Pine’s Hidden Gem Proves Paramount’s Next Star Trek Should Be a Heist

Paramount just handed the keys to the next Star Trek movie to the duo behind Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. If you saw that one, you already know where I’m going with this: let them make a caper in space. The franchise could use a jolt, and these guys specialize in sharp, crowd-pleasing heists with heart.

The new captains of Trek

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley have signed on to write, direct, and produce the next Star Trek feature, per Deadline. Paramount wants a fresh swing, and these two are pretty much a lock for inventive set-pieces and snappy character work. Their resume ranges from studio-comedy hits to sleek action, and Honor Among Thieves (yes, the Chris Pine one) is an underrated proof-of-concept for how a light-on-its-feet heist energy can make a big IP feel fun again.

My pitch: make it a heist

Star Trek’s big-screen side has been running on fumes since the Kelvin trilogy wrapped in 2016. The shows have kept the brand alive — Strange New Worlds in particular feels rejuvenated — but the movies haven’t had a clear, buzzy hook in years. A tight, high-stakes heist is tailor-made for theaters: it’s propulsive, it’s rewatchable, and it travels well. And Trek can absolutely do it. Deep Space Nine already dabbled with this vibe in the episode 'Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang' — a fun deep cut most casual fans never saw.

Even the Section 31 project with Michelle Yeoh as Emperor Philippa Georgiou flirted with cloak-and-dagger intrigue. On paper, that sounded promising. In practice, it hasn’t set the film conversation on fire. Which is why handing a clean, caper-forward story to filmmakers who thrive on puzzle-box plotting feels like the smart play.

Why Goldstein & Daley are the right fit

Honor Among Thieves is basically a fantasy heist-adventure that keeps raising the stakes without losing the characters. Swap out enchanted relics for Starfleet tech, and you can see the blueprint.

• Title and year: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
• Role: Directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley
• Genre mix: Fantasy, adventure, action, comedy
• Based on: The Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game
• Setting: The Forgotten Realms
• Main protagonist: Edgin Darvis, a bard and former Harper
• Key crew: Holga Kilgore (barbarian), Simon Aumar (sorcerer), Doric (druid), Xenk Yendar (paladin)
• Main antagonists: Sofina (a Red Wizard of Thay) and Forge Fitzwilliam
• Core plot: A ragtag team tries to steal back a powerful relic and uncovers a much bigger magical threat
• Runtime: 134 minutes
• Other credits for the duo: Game Night, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Horrible Bosses
• Up next from them: Mayday, an action-adventure for Apple starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, already drawing strong buzz ahead of release
• Where to watch HAT now: Streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.

The takeaway

Paramount bringing in Goldstein and Daley signals a real attempt to reset Trek’s movie mojo. If they lean into a smart, character-first heist — not just pew-pew spectacle — this could be the most purely fun Star Trek film in a long time.

Would you sign up for a full-on Trek caper? Tell me how you’d plot the job — and who on the Enterprise you’d pick as the wheelman, hacker, and face — in the comments.